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Mango Magnetism

Way back in 1957 when Rosemary Clooney had a No.1 hit record song celebrating the Mango:

“Mangos, papaya just nuts from the fire

In my house of straw I have so much more … “

many of us familiar with this exotic sweet juice- dripping fruit who enjoyed eating it with abandon knew the best place to consume it is in the bath!

Mangos’ health benefits or current controversy between today’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and a supermarket’s sale’s description of it were not even a stem-cell glimmer in the public’s mind.

ASDA’s Swindon, supermarket (UK) have just been hauled over the coals by Swindon’s Borough Council and fined £5,000 for labelling the fruit as having “antioxidant properties to help to fight cancer”¹ – Woops!

Swindon Magistrates Court heard the prohibited label read: “Mangoes are a great source of Vitamin C and beta-carotene, which are good for healthy eyes and skin” – nothing incorrect there. And, “Try adding mango to smoothies, fruit salad or breakfast cereal.”²

ASDA’s deadly sin, no doubt committed in the interest to boost sales, is that the claim that the fruit may help fight cancer contravenes the regulations which state that “any labelling claiming that a good prevents, treats or cures a disease” is prohibited.

There was an amusing tableau outside the court of six ASDA employees dressed as pieces of fruit demonstrating with banners, reading: “Healthy Not Guilty”.

ASDA has in fact struck an inadvertent blow for Food Medicine, because as their spokeslady put it:  

“It seems crazy to us that .. the undisputed benefits appear on Department of Health and Food Standards Agency websites that we cannot echo those statements in our stores. We don’t think it’s right that you can state exactly why you should eat lots of fruit and vegetables anywhere except the place where people want to buy them. That’s why we think the law must change, and now.”³

The ASDA claim back-down was about misleading the public to a degree, which such literal labelling may be accused of doing, because it takes more than just mangos to effect prevention of disease by use of diet. However, there will be thousands of Complementary Medicine Practitioners and Herbal Supplement Manufacturers ‘out there’ who would agree wholeheartedly with this underlying thrust of this statement. The public are encouraged to take ‘personal responsibility’ for their health and well-being, while in the main they are at the same time prevented by labelling laws from knowing what it is that might do them some good and why!

ASDA are reported to be launching a campaign to change food labelling regulations, and in a statement said they were writing to the UK Health Secretary John Reid – who has commented on the links between diets rich in fruit and vegetables and the reduced risk of cancer – to ask for help in clarifying the law.⁴ If it takes a supermarket’s frustrated ‘sales pitch’ on a fresh fruit to result in such changes, well and good.

What do we know about Mangos?

We know the Mango is native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India and spread to Malaya, eastern Asia and eastern Africa. The tree was introduced to Santa Barbara, California, USA, in 1880 and I’ve experience some succulent varieties grown in the West Indies. The plant requires a ‘frost-free’ climate and love summer heat. For the enthusiast, there are some dwarf cultivars that may be container-grown in greenhouses.

In July 2002, at a Delhi Festival in India, the world’s largest producer of the Mango, at least 3000 varieties of (Mangifera indica) were displayed to promote the culinary use of the luscious fresh fruit at home and abroad.⁵

In India the fruit is revered as a royal heritage and in Hindu mythology it is a symbol of the joy of life.

The ripe mango is not only enjoyed in India as a dessert and a table fruit to be eaten between meals, it is also processed to make juices, pulps, squashes, nectars and jams.

Although the Mango Festival was a commercial venture to promote the fruit and increase the annual revenue earned from exporting Indian mangos and mango products, the crop is worth  about $85 million per annum – India exports around 40,000 metric tonnes of mangoes to 80 counties- it demonstrated the variety of ways and delicious recipes in which mangos have a place. There is a myriad of Mango recipes for entrees, main courses, salsas, salads, desserts and beverages from which to choose, as well as eating fresh and dried mangos and using them in preserves such as jams, chutneys and pickles.⁶

The nutritional value of this mouth-watering fruit is also beneficial.

Mango Nutrition

The Mango is a very healthy fruit, which is not detrimental to slimming. For example, 3 ½ ozs. of mango slices contain 66 calories (an average sized fruit, flesh only 130 calories), 0.27g Fat and 2mg sodium and ‘No cholesterol’! ⁷

An average-sized mango can contain up to 40% of our daily fibre requirement, which is excellent news for those who may experience daily colonic evacuation problems.

Mangos are an excellent source of antioxidants: Vitamin A (precursor beta-carotene), Vitamin C, as well as being a good source of Potassium. They also contain some Vitamin E and useful amounts of iron and nicotinic acid! ⁸ In fact, mango fruit has a mild to moderate enhancing effect on iron absorption.⁹

Ripe or green mangos contain enzymes that make them useful as a tenderizing agent – good for inclusion in marinades. In India a sour mango powder made from ground up green mangos called Amchur is used both for seasoning and tenderizing.^8A

Mangos are a ‘comfort food’ that is convenient for those wishing to avoid weight-gain and for those who are always ‘on the go’ they provide a good way to replenish lost potassium.¹⁰ 

Mango Medicine

Research concerning plant foods, fruits and vegetables in particular, has proved their potential to help delay the onset of many age-related degenerative diseases due to the high content of antioxidants: vitamins, minerals, carotenes, polyphenols, and other phytonutrients. It is the mango’s high antioxidant values that have been reported to be excellent for the immune system and to help protect against cancer. Mangos also contain an enzyme with stomach soothing properties similar to papain found in papayas, which act as a digestive aid and are said to be partially responsible for the ‘feel good factor’ experienced during and after eating mangos.

Benefits of mango beta-carotene ingestion, which is converted in the body to Vitamin A, are many: it may reduce the risk of heart attack, protect against cataracts and promote healthy eyes and skin. It may also help boost the immune response to colds and ‘flu. Vitamin C is best known as a cell protector and immune system booster, countering the effects of cell damage by free radicals, aiding the body’s ligaments, tendons and collagen. It is especially useful to help against the severity of colds and ‘flu symptoms and duration. Diets high in potassium-rich food may help to protect against heart disease and stroke, as well as aiding regular heartbeat and heart-rhythm abnormalities. Vitamin E content may prevent blood clots, the formation of fatty plaques and cell proliferation on the walls of arteries, protect against stroke caused by blocked arteries and reduce the risk of some cancers by preventing cancer cell proliferation and causing cancer cells to die.

For example, Lupeol, a triterpene, is the principal constituent of common fruit plants such as olive, mango, fig and medicinal herbs that have been used to treat skin ailments. Research has found that Lupeol possesses anti-skin-tumour-promoting effects (in mice).¹⁷

In some parts of the world, such as Senegal and Brazil, mangos provide an important seasonal source of Vitamin A for the indigenous population for health and longevity.^11&15 The use of available foods rich in provitamin A like mangos can make an enormous difference to their state of health. Violaxanthin is the principal carotenoid of mango, which is also found in green vegetables.¹²

It is known that Vitamin A deficiency can cause various Ocular conditions, such as nyctalopia – (night blindness, impaired vision in dim light and in the dark, due to impaired function of certain specialized vision cells), hemeralopia – (inability to see clearly in bright light), xerophthalmia – (‘dry eyes’ resulting from inadequate function of the lacrimal glands which produce tears), which is a major cause of blindness in children in Africa and Latin America. Infant feeding practices reflect the antecedent risk of xerophthalmia in children in e.g. Nepali research found ‘mango’ helped reduce the risk of this Vitamin A deficiency condition.¹⁸

Research has also found in evaluating the radical scavenger activity of several Mediterranean and tropical fruits that, among others, mango offered better protection from damage than the common food additives butylated hydroxyanisole [BHA] and butylated hydroxytoluene [BHT].¹³

The effect of Mango extract (Vimang) on treatment of injury associated with hepatic ischemia/reperfusion from research data suggests that Vimang could be a useful new natural drug for preventing oxidative damage during hepatic injury associated with free radical generation.¹⁶

   Mangifera indica – ARS. USDA

   Photo by Paul L. Redfearn Jr.

   www.plantatlas.usf.edu

It is not only the fruit of the mango tree that is remedial. In Cuba, 2002, research revealed that an aqueous decoction of mango stem bark has been developed on an industrial scale to be used as a nutritional supplement, cosmetic and phytomedicine.¹⁴

All in all, the mango is not just a beautiful golden seductive succulent fruit with good nutritional value and many delightful culinary uses; it also has a lot of medicinal power to offer.

References:

1.                    BBC News Online  26^th October, 2004.

2.                    Ibid.

3.                    Ibid.

4.                    Ibid.

5.                    BBC News Online 6^th July, 2002, “Delhi festival celebrates Indian mango” reporter Ayanjit Sen.

6.                     Mango Recipes: : http://www.mango.co.za/recipes/Default.htm - http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mjl1/mangorecipes.html - http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/sauce/mango.htm

7.                    http://freshmangos.com/aboutmangos/index.htm1#o

8.                    http://www.annecollins.com/diet_nutrition/mangos.htm

8A.          Ibid. 

9.                    ‘The effects of fruit juices and fruits on the absorption of iron from rice meal.’ Ballot D, et al.  Br J Nutr. 1987 May;57(3):331-43.

10.                 http://freshmangos.com/aboutmangos/index.htm1#o

11.                 ‘Efficacy of massive oral doses of retinyl palmitate and mango (Mangifera indica L.) consumption to correct an existing vitamin A deficiency in Senegalese children.’ Carlier C, et al. Institut National de la Sante et de la Receherche Medicale 9INSERM), Hopital de Bicetre, France. B J Nutr. 1992 Sep;68(2):539-40.

‘Enrichment of the diet with synthetic and natural sources of provitamin A.’ Favaro RM, de Oliveira JE. Instituto Adolfo Lutz, UNAERP, Faculdade de Medicina, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brasil. Arch Latinoam Nutr 1999 Sep;49(3 Suppl 1):34S-37S.

12.                 ‘Latin American food sources of carotenoids.’ Rodriguez-Amaya DB. Dept. de Ciencia de Alimentos, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP, Brasil. Arch Latinoam Nutr. 1999 Sep;49(3 Suppl 1):74S-84S.

‘Detection of unusual carotenoid esters in fresh mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. ‘Kent’). Pott I, et al. Institute for Agricultural Engineering in the Tropics and Subtropics, Hohenheim Uv. Stuttgart, Germany. Phytochemistry 2003 Oct;64(4):825-9.

13.                 ‘Evaluation of the antioxidant properties of Mediterranean and tropical fruits compared with common food additives.’ Murca MA et al. Dept. of Food Science, Veterinary Faculty, Uv. of Murcia, Spain. J Food Prot. 2001 Dec;64(12):2037-46.

14.                 ‘Isolation and quantitative analysis of phenolic antioxidants, free sugars, and polyols from Mango (Mangifera indica L.) stem bark aqueous decoction used in Cuba as a nutritional supplement.’ Nunez Selles AJ, et al. Centro de Quimica Farmaceutica, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba. J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Feb 13;50(4):762-6.

15.                 ‘Plasma carotenoid and vitamin E concentrations in women living in a rural West African (Gambian) community’. Bates CJ, et al. Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research, Elise Widdowson Lab., Cambridge, UK. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2002 May;72(3):133-41.

16.                 ‘Protective effect of Mangifera indica L. extract (Vimang) on the injury associated with hepatic ischaemia reperfusion.’ Sanchez GM, et al. Centre for Research and Biological Evaluation, Pharmacy Institute, Havana Uv., Havana, Cuba. Phytother Res. 2003 Mar;17(3):197-201.

17.                 ‘Lupeol modulates NF-kappaB and P13K/Akt pathways and inhibits skin cancer in CD-1 mice.’ Salem M, et al. Dept of Dermatology, Uv. of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. Oncogene 2004 Jul 1;23(30):5203-14.

18.                 ‘Dietary practices and xerophthalmia among Indonesian children.’ Tarwotjo I, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982 Mar;35(3):574-81.

‘Infant feeding practices reflect antecedent risk of xerophthalmia in Nepali children’.  Gittelsohn J, et al. Centre for Human Nutrition, School of Public Health, John Hopkins Uv., Baltimore, MD USA. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1997 Jul;51(7):484-90.

[Ocular manifestations associated with vitamin A deficiency in a rural area of Burkina Faso] [Article in French] Meda N, et al. Service d’Ophtalmologie, Centre Hospitalier National Yalgado Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso. Med Trop (Mars). 2000;60(1):57-60.

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